


A Warm and Happy Feeling

by lohmann



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 13:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17489270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lohmann/pseuds/lohmann
Summary: Which will happen first: Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy finally starting to date or 90% of the Hogwarts staff losing bets?





	A Warm and Happy Feeling

He decides to go back for his seventh year. An "eighth year," some people say jokingly. He smiles, and calls the year in between a gap year, "just with more murder," and winks. He and Ginny decide to take a break - they each need to heal on their own. She opts to take a gap year of her own, and no one can blame her. In fact, she's not the only one, many students take time off after the war. Harry is the only Gryffindor in his year to come back, so he gets his dorm to himself. But he's not the only student his year there. Draco also came back, and he also is alone in his dorm. They meet on the train ride. Neither wants to sit with the younger kids, there's too much separating them now. When Harry sees him for the first time, he almost doesn't recognize him. Draco has, in a way, "gone Muggle." He's wearing ripped jeans, for one thing, and his hair is sky blue. Harry can see tints of the same color around his cuticles, which means he didn't Transfigure it, but rather dyed it himself. His basic t-shirt exposes his arms, and Harry, more out of habit than anything else, glances down at the inside of his forearm to see his Dark Mark. Yet in its place are trailing flowers instead. _It's a tattoo,_ he thinks, surprised. But then he recognizes the flowers. They're narcissus flowers.

They nod to each other quietly, and slip into the same compartment. They don't say much. Just a few greetings, asking how each other's families are, pleasantries, really.

 

They don't see much of each other after this, until one day when Harry is studying for History of Magic by himself in the library. There aren't any teachers, since they all rushed out when some kid got bitten by a book earlier, and are in the hospital wing. He's getting frustrated, since he's read the same paragraph roughly six times, and the people involved are not gaining any common sense (something he's beginning to notice that there is a distinct lack of in the wizarding world), and ends up saying (rather loudly) "what the actual fuck were you thinking." He thought he was alone in the library, but he evidently wasn't, as suddenly Draco is walking around the corner of a bookshelf, laughing. "Do you need some help?"

"No, these people need some common sense." He's still frustrated, but a little less so, since it's now sharing space with embarrassment.

They talk a little, and Draco helps him with the homework, but Harry barely notices this change in their relations because he's too busy noticing something about himself.

He has a crush on Draco Malfoy.

And a smaller realization that he's bisexual, which dawns on him a little later, and makes his feelings about Cedric make a lot more sense, as well as well… most of sixth year, to be honest.

Meanwhile, Draco is sitting in his dorm, having a similar crisis. He already knew he was gay. That wasn't the problem. The PROBLEM was that Harry Potter was much more attractive than he had any right to be.

 

The next couple days passed as a sort of dance between them. Little did they know, the entire staff had put money in a betting pot on how long it would take them to date, and the teachers who gave them extra homework were the ones who had already lost money.

 

About a week later, Harry snuck down to the lake, outside in the middle of the night. He needed fresh air to think, and was still freaking out. He sat by the shore, and tossed stones into the water.

 

That same night, Draco couldn't sleep either. He started cursing the fact that he was in Slytherin, because it mean all the draperies and bedclothes were green, and everything green was reminding him of Harry's eyes. He went down to the lake to clear his head.

 

Harry was still sitting by the water, chucking stones. Draco walked toward him, not really knowing why. On his next throw, Harry accidentally chucked his wand right into the lake. He cursed, standing up and wading into the water. Draco smiled, let him get chest deep, and then stepped to the shore. " _Accio_ Harry's wand." It shot out of the water, and he caught it. "I believe you were looking for this?"

Harry turned, sighed, and slogged his way out of the lake. "Thanks."

Draco smiled at him. Harry suddenly found it difficult to breathe right. His breath was definitely not supposed to be this ragged, right?

They stood there, in the moonlight, one sopping wet, the other completely dry, and smiling. They talked. The dry one handed back the wet one's wand, then said a spell. The wet one was now also dry. They moved to the trees and sat down under their cover. Hours went by; they still talked.

In the morning, Gryffindor's were surprised to see Harry Potter passed out on a couch in the common room. But not as surprised as when they identified Draco Malfoy as the one curled up with him, both fast asleep. It was a Saturday, so there were no classes. By the time Harry and Draco woke up, everyone had gone down to breakfast, and several photos had been taken (although they weren't aware of this fact until later). By the time the Gryffindors had returned, they had retreated to Harry's room.

It had taken approximately the first five minutes of breakfast for the entire school to know that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were (finally) dating.


End file.
